Carter: IS trying to strengthen its 'footprint' in Libya

WASHINGTON (AP) — Islamic State fighters are trying to "consolidate their own footprint" in Libya by setting up training sites, drawing in foreign recruits and using the levers of economic power to raise money through taxes, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday.

Asked at a Pentagon news conference what the U.S. intends to do about IS influence in the north African nation, Carter said that while it is a goal of the U.S. to not allow the extremists to "sink roots" in Libya, no U.S. military campaign is planned.

"You see the same kind of ambitions on their part that you see realized in full flower in Syria and Iraq," Carter said. "We don't want to be on a glideslope to a situation like Syria and Iraq. That's the reason we're watching it that closely. That's the reason why we develop options for what we might do in the future."

In Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State took advantage of civil war and sectarian divisions to assert themselves militarily with little opposition. The U.S. intervened with airstrikes in Iraq beginning in August 2014 and in Syria the following month.

Carter held out hope that Libyans will soon form a viable government that can act decisively to expel the Islamic State. He said the U.S. and other countries would play a supporting role, led by Italy, which has historic ties to Libya.

On Wednesday, Carter spokesman Peter Cook said small numbers of U.S. military personnel have been on the ground in Libya "trying to establish contact with forces on the ground so that we get a clear picture of what's happening there."